Maine Vacation

We are back home from an incredible vacation in Maine! It was the longest that we have been away from home as a family and although I was excited, I was also a bit nervous about the logistics of our family traveling and being out of our routine. It turns out that it was just what we needed and totally relaxing and full of awesome memories.

The week started by an overnight with my cousin, Jen and her family. They live in Brunswick, Maine, which is about an hour north of our vacation spot. Jen's kids are all about the same age as our kids and they love spending time together. We had a blast visiting and dancing with the Ruid-Hemberger clan! (By the way... if it was easy enough to do... I'd probably pick up everything here and move to Maine. It is incredibly beautiful and a true sense of relaxation - almost as if everything moves a little slower and that the more you take the time to take it all in, the better you are! I could get use to that!!)

Then off to Wells, Maine for our vacation. This vacation was a gift from Nick's mom and her friend. There was 17 of us all in the house and I wasn't quite sure how this was all going to work out. We are a family with young kids and have early mornings and not so late nights, not to mention that we don't usually vacation with this crew, so I was a little hesitant that it might be just too much. In the end, we not only give thanks to Nick's mom for this house and week, but also for bringing us together. This group would have never (on their own) been organized or brave enough to put together a vacation together, but it was great. The cousins LOVED having so many people around them to give them love and attention - which allowed me to feel a little bit more relaxed and not in constant "entertainment" mode. It was great to be able to visit with so many people and appreciate what every personality brings to the group.

Cousins... nothing better than friendships forever.

Wells Beach at low tide.

Truly beautiful.

I had many moments when the beauty of Maine truly took my breath away. I found myself teary several times during this trip - and not because I was sad, but because the natural beauty was so intense and I felt so fortunate to be able to be part of it.

One of my favorite parts of this trip was early mornings. I seemed to naturally wake up early and would head out (alone) for an early morning run. I would explore the town, run on the beach and even got to see the sun rise. The beach was pretty empty during this time of the day, but I would see others enjoying the same tranquility that I was finding. I realize that I am sounding totally cheesy, but it was awesome!

This is a picture from the Marginal Way in Olgonquet. Really, really beautiful!

True Maine coast.

Family picture along the coast.

All 17 of us in our family reunion t-shirts for the Family Picture.

Nick, me, Max, Tony, Randy, Jenise, Lisa, Lauren,

Nadia, Audrey, Elena, Jai

Tony, Ryan, Natalie, Sadie, Colin

Natalie has found her new passion... ocean swimming. She was in the water at every opportunity regardless of temperature. By the end of the week, she was even talking others into post-dinner swims. Above is Jenise and Natalie heading out.

Boogy boarding!

One of the nights, the "grown ups" got to go out to dinner while the older cousins babysat back at the house. This was a bit reminiscent of my childhood vacations to the Adirondacks when the grown ups did the same thing. I remember being both the babysitters and then the babysitter for my cousins. Now I can truly appreciate how much my parents must have enjoyed this night!

Max (above) is Nick's mom's friend's son. Got that...

He and his wife, Elena, live out in California and although we have met them before - we haven't really had the opportunity to spend much time with them. It was so awesome to have them part of this week and really get to know them. They are funny, insightful and just great to hang around with. On top of that... Max seems to be a kid at heart and was often found in the midst of the kids playing in the ocean, building sand castles or just being silly.

One of the fine sand castle creations by the Giumarra Gang!

We are all already talking about a possible trip back next summer!